An Experiment in Fun and Nonsense

I’ve been mulling over the question since I started this again, whether it is possible to make a webcomic entirely for fun.

Think about it. No more agendas, no rules, no restraints. Without the expectation of money, or a following of any kind. No trying to decide how many ads I can stuff into the sidebars. No more trying to get the attention of a publisher. Is it possible?

When I first started On The Edge back in 2002, before I even had my own internet access, I was drawing it purely for fun, and sharing it with friends. Then In 2003 I began posting them on Livejournal to share with a few more friends, and eventually it evolved into its own website. The word “webcomic” began floating around and some people started making money, and at some point it started to feel like, if you’re posting comics online it must be a business. You must follow these rules! You must get popular! You must make money! It felt like a race, one of those big marathon races where a few people lead and the rest sort of float in the middle somewhere. I felt like I had to update 3 times a week because that’s how it’s done. It has to be gag-a-day because that’s what people want, and damn it it had better be funny – or else! I felt pressure. It lost the fun. One could compare it to high school. Yuck!

Even today, when I search the topic of making webcomics online the majority of articles I find are on how to make money making webcomics, or how to make a popular webcomic, complete with lists of rules and regulations to solve these age old mysteries. Why do I need these rules? Who are they to tell me what size to work in, or that I should update a certain amount of times per week? I realize in the end, that the pressure is all my own, but who isn’t influenced by their peers right? Who doesn’t measure themselves against the highest bar and want it? That for me was the problem.

So i decided. Phooey to rules and regulations. Screw the pressure. You will find no update schedule here. If I do update it will be on a Monday, because I feel like that’s the day when people need the most cheering up. I know I do! The best way to know if a new comic is up will be through facebook. Or by checking back 6 months from now.
I’m going back. Back to when I just drew some comics, made them look as nice as I could, for the fun of it, for the practise, and because my imaginary friends talk to me in my head and I need to write and draw what they say. And I will continue to show them to you, my friends. Because it’s fun. Is it possible? Am I a hypocrite? Will this experiment in fun and nonsense succeed?